Undoing The Best Diplomatic Agency in the World

What Elon's and Trump's Attack on USAID Actually Means

One of the most successful government programs for the United States is the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The USAID is an independent agency that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $50 billion, USAID is one of the largest official aid agencies in the world and accounts for more than half of all U.S. foreign assistance¹ – the highest in the world in absolute dollar terms. US developmental aid helps build hospitals, schools, roads, bridges and other important social infrastucture in places around the world that critically need it. Without it, these places tend to fall into chaos, war, civil unrest, famine, crime and horrible economic conditions. Aid in this regard serves multiple purposes: 1) it stabilizes a region, 2) it creates infrastructure that facilitates economic growth, including to the advantage of the United States and 3) it builds political ties with other nations. It is an outright good at very little expense.

Congress passed the Foreign Assistance Act on September 4, 1961, which reorganized U.S. foreign assistance programs and mandated the creation of an agency to administer economic aid. USAID was subsequently established by the executive order of President John F. Kennedy, who sought to unite several existing foreign assistance organizations and programs under one agency. USAID became the first U.S. foreign assistance organization whose primary focus was long-term socioeconomic development.

USAID's programs are authorized by Congress in the Foreign Assistance Act, which Congress supplements through directions in annual funding appropriation acts and other legislation. As an official component of U.S. foreign policy, USAID operates subject to the guidance of the president, secretary of state, and the National Security Council. USAID has missions in over 100 countries, primarily in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.

USAID helps set the tone of what the United States wants done globally. It helps message our foreign standing on technological innovation, global warming, pandemic response, economic development, transportation infrastructure and global security. Other countries pay close attention to what USAID does and says, as it sets the standard for what other industrialized countries focus on as well. It is also a proving ground for many and most of our foreign service and eventual diplomatic corps. A USAID worker in Thailand for instance stands a very good chance of becoming attuned to the issues of the area, and finding a career working in the embassay and possibly as Ambassador someday.

Elon Musk and Donald Trump however have focused specifically on killing USAID.² Why? In Trump’s terms, it spends US dollars in shithole countries. Trump has claimed it’s filled with radical liberals and Musk has referred to it as a “not an apple with a worm in it, but a ball of worms.” Neither description is apt. Yes, helping people less fortunate tends to attract people on the liberal end of the political spectrum, most of whom probably despise Trump. However, these foreign service workers do a lot of good in the name of America, and by gutting and eliminating the agency, the world becomes a darker and more dangerous place. And it’s not just liberal Peace Corps types; evangelical christians often partake jobs as missionaries of which the USAID organizes and supports.

So why is eliminating USAID dumb? For starters, we are ceding the playing field to China. They had already begun dumping billions of foreign assistance in African countries to mine rare earth minerals, a necessity for most electronics and batteries. Without them, US companies cannot compete. By pulling out, Trump makes it easier and cheaper for China to dominate that market in the future. That influx of Yuan supplants the US Dollar as a reserve currency, and soon the dollar has less value as well.

In addition, without future assistance, some of these areas become more and more unstable. To those of us who remember the Ugandan and Rwandan genocides of the ‘70s and ‘90s, the famines in Ethiopia in the 80s and Darfur in the 2000s, or the mass murders of various dictators throughout modern African history, you know what that looks like. Political instability breeds horrific consequences. As more and more beg for help, Trump is essentially slamming the door in their faces.

The elimination of USAID only says one thing to the world; “You’re on your own.” And the message is crystal clear; “If you want any help from the United States, you have to kiss the ring of Trump.” That was what became clear by the end of Trump’s first term, but this time around other countries are playing it differently. They are basically saying “Fine, you do you America. Meanwhile, all these other things we do for you are going to stop too.”

Trump covets the power of mobsters, but if there’s one thing mafia Dons always remember it’s that business is the art of relationships. There has to be a little give and take. Trump only sees or knows the “take” part of that equation. That is usually the point in which the young, brash upstart knocks off the Dons. That power he sees is utterly illusory, there is always someone else offering a better deal. Eliminating USAID has no upside at all. Everyone who knows what the agency does knows that; Trump clearly does not.

Eliminating the USAID does nothing but cuts our own feet from beneath us.

PurpleAmerica’s Obscure Fact of the Day

This list is from Wikipedia, but take note who receives the most in USAID funding; Afghanistan, a country we’ve basically occupied for 20 years. After that, no other country gets over a billion in aid.

PurpleAmerica’s Final Word on the Subject

Trump is a moron. Pass it on.

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Footnotes and Fun Stuff

1. This is a bit of a misnomer in that we often funnel our assistance through USAID so that we can control where the money goes and make sure its being used for what we want it to, instead of lining the pockets of corrupt officials.

2. There’s a lot of mistruths out there that what they had already done killed the agency. This is not true; they can’t kill it without an act of Congress. What they can try to do is hamstring it and make it a complete fully functioning subsidiary of the State department, losing its independence. They’ve gotten to this point, but it would take a court order to enforce keeping them separate. For that, you have to have standing to sue for remedial relief; this is a problem since recipients of aid are largely foreign, who may not want to go to the trouble of suing. You may argue Congresspersons can sue (they can!) but if State pays the money appropriated instead of USAID directly, its hard to argue there is an actual harm.